SEOUL, March 07 (AJP) - Industry leaders gathered in Seoul on Thursday to discuss the rapid evolution of data centers, as artificial intelligence infrastructure fuels unprecedented power demands across the country.
"Despite land and power constraints, data center capacity in the Greater Seoul Area reached 520 megawatts in the second half of 2024, marking a 15 percent year-on-year increase," said John Pritchard, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s data center advisory group in Korea. "With 638 megawatts currently in the development pipeline, total capacity in the region is expected to surpass 1 gigawatt in the near future."
Seoul's data center vacancy rate has fallen to just 6 percent, with the southwestern Seoul cluster accounting for 26 percent of the city’s total capacity.
Pritchard noted that while South Korea has a population of 51 million, its total data center capacity stands at just 697 megawatts — significantly lower than Singapore’s 1,000 megawatts, despite the city-state having only 6 million residents.
The power requirements of data centers are evolving at an unprecedented pace.
Hong Ji-won, director at Empyrion Digital, highlighted the shift: "Traditional data centers required just a few kilowatts per rack. But as companies like Amazon, Naver, and Kakao entered the market, demand rose to around 10 kilowatts per rack. AI data centers now require 40, 60, or even over 130 kilowatts per rack."
This surge in energy consumption is driving a shift from traditional air cooling to more efficient liquid cooling solutions. "Water is approximately 3,500 times more effective at absorbing heat than air in the same volume," Hong explained.
Empyrion Digital is preparing to launch its AI-ready data center in Seoul’s Gangnam area in August 2025. CEO Mark Fan emphasized the company's customer-focused approach, noting that the new facility will offer a total capacity of 40 megawatts, including 29.4 megawatts dedicated to IT load.
"Each floor will provide 4.2 megawatts of capacity, with ceiling heights exceeding 7 meters on standard floors and 8.25 meters on AI-specialized floors," Hong added. "This is significantly higher than competitors’ ceilings, which range between 6 and 6.5 meters, enabling better heat management."
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